Maggie Daley looking ahead

Chicago's departing first lady welcomes 'a new chapter'

Maggie Daley took her final turn in the spotlight as Chicago's first lady Friday, saying she and her husband are looking forward to starting "a new chapter" in their lives.

Mayor Richard Daley officially leaves office Monday morning, and Maggie Daley said she believes he will quickly adapt to civilian life.

"I think the first day will be a shock, and after that, he'll have so many things to be involved in, really," she said as the mayor was surrounded by well-wishers at Ogden Park in West Englewood, the last stop on his neighborhood appreciation tour.

"We're lucky to have a new chapter in your life," she said. "Sometimes people don't take advantage of that. I'm glad that we have that opportunity while we're still vibrant.

"It's been a good life," she added.

The first lady said she feels OK despite recent health setbacks. "I have a lot of challenges ahead, but anybody who has cancer has the same experience. So we're a mighty group," she said.

She was admitted twice to Northwestern Memorial Hospital with flulike symptoms following mid-April surgery to replace a titanium rod in her right leg. She was released Monday after a weeklong stay for the symptoms, which her doctors say are not related to the metastatic breast cancer she has battled since 2002.

She plans to continue to be an advocate for After School Matters, which she started as the Block 37 arts program two decades ago.

"We hope to be involved, to do good things in the city, and to support Mayor Emanuel, and that will be that," she said.